About this Book

• The anthology features a section on Blumhouse’s key franchises. While these have been discussed elsewhere in academic literature, Blumhouse Productions gives each franchise a separate analysis. Other research has lumped Paranormal Activity, Insidious, and The Conjuring in analyses, rarely separating the franchises which are very different.
• Many of the chapters highlight Blumhouse’s unusual production model of thinly capitalizing films in exchange for creative freedom, a model that has led to highly discussed films like Get Out (2017) and overtly political films such as The Purge. Blumhouse Productions is unique insofar as many of the chapters link the profitability of the company to its business practices. By contrast, other scholarship has often mentioned the Blumhouse model in passing.
• In addition to containing chapters on Blumhouse’s most notable and successful horror films, the book also considers lesser discussed films such as Dark Skies (2013), an alien abduction film that deploys recessionary imagery associated with haunted house films, films that failed financially as in Black Christmas, a film that self-consciously reflects the concerns brought to the fore by the MeToo movement, and nonhorror films like BlackKklansman, a film that lampoons white nationalism. This coverage gives a well-rounded view of the Blumhouse.